Buncombe Turnpike
The Buncombe Turnpike, (also known as Drovers’ Road), constructed between 1824 and1828. Promoted by western legislators as a link between their constituents and eastern markets, the Turnpike ran north and west from Greenville, South Carolina to Greenville, Tennessee by way of Asheville, (via what is now known as Broadway Street). As a link in the Dixie Highway it connected the northern states with the tip of Florida.
The Buncombe Turnpike promptly became an artery of trade and change. This pathway was most likely chosen because it provided a gentle grade between the flood plains along the French Broad River.
A great deal traffic came in the form of drovers herding horses, mules, cattle, hogs, geese, ducks, and turkeys from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky down the trail to markets southward. Settlements sprang up to house the drovers and feed animals en route, providing a ready market for farmers and boosting corn production along the way.
Another type of traffic came up the turnpike from the low country: summer visitors. Previously a few South Carolinians had made the onerous journey to the cool North Carolina mountains, but the Buncombe Turnpike sped the transformation of the mountains into a summer resort area. With visitors arriving in the relative comfort of a carriage instead of a wagon, various points along the way developed into popular destinations.
The Buncombe Turnpike promptly became an artery of trade and change. This pathway was most likely chosen because it provided a gentle grade between the flood plains along the French Broad River.
A great deal traffic came in the form of drovers herding horses, mules, cattle, hogs, geese, ducks, and turkeys from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky down the trail to markets southward. Settlements sprang up to house the drovers and feed animals en route, providing a ready market for farmers and boosting corn production along the way.
Another type of traffic came up the turnpike from the low country: summer visitors. Previously a few South Carolinians had made the onerous journey to the cool North Carolina mountains, but the Buncombe Turnpike sped the transformation of the mountains into a summer resort area. With visitors arriving in the relative comfort of a carriage instead of a wagon, various points along the way developed into popular destinations.
The Buncombe Turnpike was not only the key to economic and social growth in the mountain section of North Carolina, but it also played a role in the Civil War. The network of roads provided easy travel for Union troops seeking food and shelter and provided former slaves and others passage to Tennessee to join the Union army.
During the war, traffic on the Turnpike had dwindled to a trickle and the great drives of livestock had halted. After the war, many of Western North Carolina's drovers and farmers were killed or crippled, and the railroads that met the old roads had been destroyed. In addition, the war had reduced the herds of animals and decimated the markets in South Carolina and Georgia.To pay debts, plantations were divided into smaller farms, many to be sharecropped. Western North Carolina, like most of the South, entered into an economic depression under the occupation of Federal troops. While the Turnpike continued to transport people and livestock, its usage never regained its pre-war numbers.
During the war, traffic on the Turnpike had dwindled to a trickle and the great drives of livestock had halted. After the war, many of Western North Carolina's drovers and farmers were killed or crippled, and the railroads that met the old roads had been destroyed. In addition, the war had reduced the herds of animals and decimated the markets in South Carolina and Georgia.To pay debts, plantations were divided into smaller farms, many to be sharecropped. Western North Carolina, like most of the South, entered into an economic depression under the occupation of Federal troops. While the Turnpike continued to transport people and livestock, its usage never regained its pre-war numbers.